Summary
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called for an “immediate” summit between the US, EU, and Western allies to discuss Ukraine following a heated White House meeting between Trump and President Zelenskyy.
The February 28 meeting ended without agreement on a minerals deal after escalating into a confrontation over US aid and peace deal conditions.
Meloni warned that Western division “makes us all weaker” as European leaders reaffirmed support for Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas commented that “the free world needs a new leader,” while European allies worry about being excluded from US-Russia negotiations to end the war.
We give a lot because we produce a lot. Italy’s arms export grew 86% between 2019 and 2024.
And while we are too weak to be openly against our major trade partner, Germany, she is also balancing her act with our second trade partner, the USA and trying to explain her electorate that she is still the one they voted for who called Orbán an exemplary leader, all while Salvini, another prominent member of her government, screamed for a Peace Prize to Trump as soon as he appeared to give in to Putin.
Right now Starmer and Meloni are what is dragging everyone else’s feet on a United EU Defense plan and an EU-led diplomatic move towards Russia.
In the 100 years old tradition of fascist parties in Italy, she is also subject to the whims of much more powerful actors internally and externally.
I am trying to be careful not to presume too much, yet what you write goes against a lot of what I know. Salvini belongs to a different political party right? Having ministers of different parties say different things and even having different opinions isn’t uncommon, we have had the same in Sweden too. This doesn’t mean Meloni share those ideas.
Did you mean that Meloni has called Orban an exemplary leader? I have not read about this.
As to the united EU defense plan and the EU-led diplomatic move against Russia, I know little about them, what have Starmer and Meloni done to stall it? And is this related to Ukraine or is it rather that they are against further centralization and federalism in EU? This they are not alone about and I would say is unrelated.
I know her party is quite extreme and I don’t agree with their radical conservatism, but she is pro-Europe and pro-Ukraine and anti-Putin as far as I have read from her speeches and actions. If you have information that might change my mind, please share.